Meet the Staff

Jennie Smith - Owner

Owner and groomer, Jennifer Smith is a Nationally Certified Master Groomer, having attained this prestigious status in 1996. She has been working with dogs since 1978. Early on, she worked in dog boarding and training facilities, as a dog sled driver, and as a vet tech.

Jennie became a groomer in 1988. In this capacity she has owned three successful pet grooming salons.

Currently, as a Nationally Certified Master Groomer, Jennie is a much sought after national speaker at grooming conventions, speaking on various topics related to dog grooming. She competes, and a number of times has won, local and national grooming competitions. She is a dog grooming instructor and an American Red Cross Instructor of Animal CPR. She spends a large percentage of her time grooming dogs, having a keen eye toward creativity and precision. Jennie's expertise is skillfully demonstrated across a wide range of dogs, from Golden Retrievers to Bichons, from Chihuahuas to Schnauzers. Her proficiency at scissoring and shaping make her perfect for breeds where extra care is appreciated.

Despite her busy schedule, she finds time to breed and show Pomeranians and Flat Coated Retrievers.

Jennie was an alternate for the reality grooming show, "Groomer Has It", on Animal Planet!!!!

Why does she do all of this...because she loves dogs!!

Kate Pawley – General Manager

Kate has been with us since August 2016. She grew up here in Loveland, CO while showing both dogs and horses in 4-H and working for Jennie while in high school. After watching a movie called "Love Leads the Way" Kate decided that she would follow her dream of training guide dogs where she moved to Florida in 2001. After becoming a certified guide dog instructor and Apprentice Manager for 15 years Kate decided that she missed the mountains, snow, cold and most of all no humidity. Today, she is happily back working with Jennie and the different breeds of dogs and their families while her personal dog, Bella, loves to play with the other dogs in the doggie daycare.

Larry Williams - Daycare Manager

Larry spends the most time with the daycare dogs day to day. He was raised in Denver, Colorado and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1977. He then moved to Loveland in 1978, taking a job at Hewlett Packard. He worked at HP for almost 25 years and owned and operated Premier Kennels for about 15 years. He bred and trained malamutes for sled dogs, weight pulling dogs, and show dogs.

He is the head instructor of his own mixed martial art studio located in Berthoud, Colorado called Kingdom Martial Arts. He has been an owner and trainer for over 30 years in the mixed martial arts field.

He has seven children and is married to a woman that has eight children, and they have been married for almost 15 years. He owns two Pomeranians, Teddy and Knox, and is training Knox for weight pulling competitions. Knox is the first 5 lb dog ranked in the International Weight Pulling Association, and he’s just getting started. The things that matter the most to Larry is his faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He honors the Lord by loving his family and friends and lives each day helping, giving, and loving all people he comes in contact with.

Alyson Brown – Daycare/Reception

Despite being native to Missouri, Alyson had the privilege of spending her younger years growing up in Steamboat Spring, Colorado. The opportunities that came with living in the country molded her into the animal fanatic she is today. Residing on a horse-boarding property gave her an early hand in learning to train and ride horses. Her family was heavily involved in mustang rescue and took trips to BLM land during horse auctions. Often, mustang-round ups left young foals separated from their dams, so they aided in foal-rearing and injury rehabilitation – all from their ranch home-base just outside of Steamboat Springs. No matter how deeply immersed in horses her family was, it was clear from a young age that she was more of a dog person at heart.

When she was nine years old, Alyson began competition dog sled racing. Character building years training and caring for a pack of Siberian Huskies eventually led her to competition race wins…and gained her a decent amount of knowledge in dog conditioning! Many years later, her family relocated to Grand Lake, Colorado. Alyson spent several winters working as a tour guide at a dog sled ride company in nearby Winter Park, though she no longer had sled teams of her own. Still, having less land of her own meant her animal based passions changed somewhat. She spent many years waterfowl and upland bird hunting with her German Shorthaired Pointer. Siberian Huskies, however, were still an obsession. Alyson bought my first show Siberian when she was nineteen while attending school at The Bel-Rea Institute of Veterinary Technology. Though she never won a single ribbon, from that point on she knew she had been bitten by the dog show bug.

Alyson has always enjoyed the purpose behind the breed. She truly believes dog sledding with Nordic-dogs and game hunting with bird-dogs led her to her current passion with Sighthounds. Moving to Fort Collins, Colorado brought Alyson into the world of sighthounds. She is now proudly owned by two Silken Windhounds and has a fairly active dog-show lifestyle. She spends a good deal of time lure coursing and participating in whatever dog activity she can get into!

Her additional passions include studying canine nutrition and conditioning, and genetics. She is always excited to share any and all of the knowledge she has. Though new to Dogs’ Own, Alyson hopes to get to know each and every one of our clients – two and four-legged alike!